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SEATTLE — Apr. 26, 2016 — The Redfin Housing Demand Index fell 6.9 percent in March from a year earlier, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year declines, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. Early-stage demand remains strong, with the number of Redfin customers requesting tours up 19.1 percent year over year, about the same level of growth seen in February. But the company reports that demand is petering out from there. The number of customers writing offers fell 7.5 percent year over year in March, following a 4.1 percent increase in February.

The Redfin Housing Demand Index is the industry’s first and only measure of homebuyer activity prior to purchase, and is based on millions of visits to Redfin.com home-listing pages and thousands of Redfin customers requesting tours and writing offers in 15 major metro areas.

“Despite an increasing number of people searching for homes, fewer are taking the plunge and making offers due to a scarcity of homes for sale and a lot of competition from other buyers,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “The result has been, and will likely continue to be, modest sales growth so far this year.”

Across the 15 metro areas measured by the Demand Index, home prices were up 4.7 percent in March from a year earlier as sales grew a modest 2.8 percent. The total number of homes for sale fell 1.7 percent, the 11th consecutive month of declines, even as new listings grew 7.7 percent.

The continually falling inventory makes it harder for buyers to find homes that fit the bill, which is one reason why fewer are making offers this year than last. Even though fewer buyers are making offers, those who do are likely to face competition over the rare desirable home that hits the market.

Last month, 62 percent of offers Redfin agents wrote faced bidding wars, a slight decrease from 63 percent a year ago. And 27 percent of homes sold for more than their asking price, up from 25 percent last year. The typical home stayed on the market for just 22 days, five days fewer than last year.

Bidding wars are heating up as 66 percent of Redfin offers faced competition and the typical home went under contract in just 17 days so far in April.

"Being successful in this market often requires losing out in a few bidding wars to learn what it takes to win a hot home in a desirable neighborhood,” said Redfin agent Niko Voutsinas in Chicago. “Once a buyer finds that special property that really stands out to them, they’re ready to move quickly and aggressively to win the bid. Finding and winning the right home is more about determining how much the home is worth to you and making an offer that reflects that, than focusing only on the ‘fair market value.’”

To read the full report, complete with data, charts and insights, click or paste the following link:
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/04/march-housing-demand-index.html.

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the customer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country’s #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the industry’s most accurate home-value estimate, theRedfin Estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commission. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in home sales, and saved customers more than $335 million in fees, and counting.
For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visitwww.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit theRedfin Data Center.